Russia Does Not Seek Global Conflict, Says Medvedev

Russia does not want a global conflict, but the international situation is becoming increasingly dangerous, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has warned.
In an interview, Medvedev said global tolerance levels are shrinking and the risk of a broader confrontation cannot be dismissed, even though Moscow has no interest in such a scenario. “The situation is extremely dangerous. We are not interested in a global conflict. We are not crazy,” he said. “But the possibility of a global conflict cannot be excluded.”
Medvedev accused Western governments of repeatedly ignoring Russia’s security interests, arguing that this disregard has contributed to the current crisis. He described the resumption of contacts with Washington—reportedly through envoys linked to U.S. President Donald Trump—as a positive development, but cautioned that conditions for ending the war in Ukraine remain far from ripe.
The conflict, triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has become the most severe confrontation between East and West since the Cold War. Despite diplomatic efforts, Medvedev said Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on the terms needed to stop the fighting.
Rejecting claims that Russia relies solely on intimidation, Medvedev said Moscow has already demonstrated its willingness to act in defense of its interests. He also dismissed Western assertions about alleged Russian or Chinese threats related to Greenland, calling them baseless.
European diplomats, however, argue that Moscow has long used the risk of escalation as a tactic to deter deeper Western involvement in the conflict.
The roots of the war date back to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan uprising, after which Russia annexed Crimea and Moscow-backed separatists began fighting Ukrainian forces in the east. Ukraine and its allies describe the invasion as an imperial land grab—an accusation Russia continues to deny.